Basket cover fastener



June 20, 1939. I R Hmfrz ET L 2,153,120

BASKET COVER FASTENER Filed Jan. 2, 1954 @5W/w. ma@

Patented June 20, 1939 UNITED Y STATES PATENT.- OFFICE` BASKET COVER FASTENER poration of Michigan Application January 2, 1934,. Serial No. .704,952."u

Claims.

Ourlinvention relates to devices for fastening a basket-coverto the basket side wall and has reference moreparticularly to companion members on the basket side wall and cover edge respecr. tively, one of which interlocks with the other by bending tohold the cover down.

It is a common practice to provide baskets, especially those of the bushel basket type, with covers which are made -of thin strips or panels 10 secured at their outer ends to the upper edge of a marginal hoop. Such baskets are usually made with a pair of wire handles projecting up'- wardly above'the upper edge of the basket at oppositesides, and the cover, which is of `suit- -able size so that the depending marginal hoop thereof is located directly above the'rim of the basket, has a top cross slat with projecting ends which are engaged in the basket handles for holding the cover in placevon the basket. It goals the prevailing practice,-'however; to fill such baskets heaping Yfull uso as'to produce what is known as a bulge pack and Vwhen the cover is forced down over the basket contents and the projecting ends of the top cover slat are engaged with `the basket handles, the cover is placed under considerable strain and bulges upwardly so that there is a considerable gap'between the cover and basket midway around the Hsides thereof between the basket handles, and this is quite 'objectionable'not "on1y`from the standpoint of appearance, but also because it exposes `or permits access to the con'- tents of Vthe basketv and oftentimes occasions con= siderable loss. quiteimportant to provide means for'fastening the cover downto the basketv at these points mid` way around the basketf'between the basket han# dles, and such midway fastening means and the' connection `thereof with the basketiandcover not only 'must be very strong andk secure'so as "to" 40 safely withstandthe bulgingstrain on the cover as well as the rough handling to which such. baskets are subjected in shipping, but they must r also be small and compact, inexpensive, and such Ithat they not only. can be used readilyby ordinary- Abasket packers in fastening the cover, but also.4 can be easily disconnected for removalof the' cover without, in either case, causing inconvenience, annoyance or delay. The'bulging pressureV on the cover has a tendency to split and loosen the cover slats at the places wherethe cover edge is pulled down and `secured tothef'baskeaandit is particularly important, therefore,v both for :aps:

pearance and to safeguard the basket contents,

.zthatithefastenerfbelattached to the cover inlsuch It is desirable, therefore, andv a manner that it Willikeep thecover panels from` splitting or .pulling loose.

The principal objects-of our invention are to providean improved lbasket coverk fastener of the characterandy for .the purposes above indicated; 5 'y tofinsure a strongrv and Idependable `fastening of the-cover onthe basket-which isquick and converlientY to -use;' to arrange the fastener so that the'parts interengage .ready for interlocking merely by-'pressing down .on the cover edge; to attach 10 the fastener parts to the basket and'cover in such a manner lthat they-not only will not impair the strength of y'the portionsl of the basket and coverA to `whichthey are attached, but will, in addition.l give 11 added-'strength and safeguard the cover 15,` panels 'aga-inst' splitting and pulling.V loose; to provide 'a fastener which can be made and applied rapidly l with a comparatively simple machine; and infgeneralyto insurea satisfactoryanddef pendable-fa'stener atfminimum cost,-these and .20 otherobjectslbeing attained with the construction shown in i the vaccompanying"drawing in which, y

Figil is a perspective View vof a bushel basket` with cover thereonfwhichv is fastened to the basket 25. with vmy :improved fasteners;

Fig.` 2 is anfenlarged View of the front .fastener of 1 with fragmentary portions of the basket andr cover, to which it is'attached;

Fig: 3 `is a vertical-sectional view through the 30 middleofJ theafastener-and the edge of the'cover andfthe rim of fthebasket, the tongue member of thefastenerbeing-shownin full linesin the inserted-'position and-'in dotted linesin the down# turned Nlocking position; andi 35'v Fig. 4-is`"-a'top'view 'of the `cover structure of Fig. 3.

Referrlnglto the vdrawing,'the reference numer-y al 5 indicatesa basket and 6 a basket cover; both of whichare of usual construction,the basket 40 having lth"e'upper edgeofl the sidewall secured betweenl'innerfand outer top hoops 'l and 8 respe'ctivelyf'toiwhich wirehandles 9 are attached, andthe coverconsistingof a plurality of thin crossed slats I0 and II, which are secured at 4,5` their ends -by staplesIZ to `the topredge of the marginalhoop I3, and said cover also has a top slat I4 which is likewise secured to the top edge of the hoop-I3 by1staples^l5 and has projecting ends `which engage-the basket handles 9 for fastening tthe cover von the basket.V4

For securing the coverto the :basket atthe sides, forat v points therearound midway.` between the handle 9 and slat I4 connection,'ithe.cover is y provided-'with .projecting .wire loops vI 6 L and the 5555;

basket with tongue members II, the latter of which originally project straight up above the top edge of the basket so that when the cover 6 is applied on the basket 5 with the cross slat I4 engaged with the handles 9, each tongue I'I projects up through the corresponding cover loop I6 as shown by full lines in Fig. 3, and by bending the top portions of the tongues I'I down as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, the tongues I'I and loops I6 are interlocked so as to fasten the cover down securely to the basket at these places.

The tongue members I'I may be of any desired form such as a single strand ofwire or strip of flat metal and may be attached to the basket in any convenient manner, las for example, by forming said members at their lower ends with upturned hook portions which engage between the outer hoop 8 and the basket wall, but we prefer to make these members I'I in the form of wire loops as shown having a pair of laterallyv spaced legs joined by a bendV at the upper ends and the lower ends of the legs are preferably punched through the top hoops 'I and 8Vof the basket near to their bottom edges and through the intermediate basket wall and have the inner ends bent upwardly and clinched against the inner hoop 1 as shown at I8 so that the tongue member is securely locked in place on the basket rim and projects upwardly in position to engage with a cover loop.

The. cover loops I6 are also of wire with a middle portion I9 spaced from the cover a suitable distance to accommodate freely therebetween the tongue member II which is confined between divergent side arms 20 which extend inwardly over the end of the cover slat II and terminate in downwardly extending prongs 2| which are driven through the slat II and into the hoop I3 to a sufficient depth to securely anchor the fastener loop I6 to the-cover. Obviously the arms 20 could be parallel instead of divergent, as shown, but this would bring the prongs 2| closer together so there would be'greater danger of splitting the hoop I3 when they are driven down therein and moreover; if the arms 20 were parallel, there would be a shorter portion of each arm 20 overlying'the end of the slat II and these portions would extend lengthwise ofthe grain of Athe wood in the slat II so that there not only would be a tendency to weaken or split the slat when the parallel arms are clamped down thereagainst in driving the fastener I6 into the cover edge, but the end of the slat II would also be.

likely to split and pull loose at the fastener under the'bulging strain imposed-thereon Vb y the heaping contents of the basket. Therefore, it is` an important feature of our invention that the member I 6 is constructed with divergent arms 20 so as to increase the spacing of the prongs 2| sufficiently to greatly minimize the-possibility of splitting the hoop I3 when the prongs 2| Vare driven therein and what is perhaps more-important is that the divergentV arrangement of the arms increases the length of the portions of the arms 20 that overlie the end of the slat I| and these portions of increased length extendrdiagonally over the grain of the wood and-not only obviate the possibility of splitting Vthe ends of `the slat in applying` the fastener, but insure a cross grain hold on the slat which; will prevent the end of the slat pulling away'from' the hoop I3 under the bulging strainV of; the heaped con-` tents of the basket. 'i

structure is composed principally of the slats III and that the slats and I4 are arranged one above the other at right angles over the other slats I0 in such a manner that they serve to that they cannot pull loose therefrom, and the fastener members I6 are in turn securely connected by the companion fastener members I1 to the side wall of the basket, a cover attachment is afforded which not only holds the cover securely in place on Vthe basket, but also co-operates with the cover so that the latter readily withstands the bulging strain thereon.

It is also to be noted that the members of this fastener are constructed so that they readily engagefor interlocking by pressing down on the cover edge and that when engaged, the end of the tongue member projects up where it can be readily manipulated and easily bent down to the interlocking position and these members, when interlocked provide a small, compact and dependable fastener which is not likely to be disturbed orto cause any inconvenience or annoyance or injury in packing or handling the baskets and covers or in using the fastener.

While we have shown and described our lnvention in a preferred form and as applied to a structure in which the cover is engaged with the basket handles, we are aware that the cover may be fastened in place entirely with fasteners of the character herein described, arranged at suitable intervals around the basket, and that various other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles of our invention, the scope of which is to be determined by the appended claims.

We claim as our invention: Y

1. The combination with a basket, of a cover therefor having a depending marginal hoop, and means for fastening the cover onto the basket comprising a fastener member on the basket, and a companion fastener member on and projecting outward from the cover and having a pair of circumferentially spaced prongs extending downwardly into thesaid depending marginal hoop, said first mentioned fastener member being engaged with said companion fastener member close to said prongs of the latter and said membersbeingarranged so that strains that tend to separatethe cover from the basket exert a pull on the said companion fastener member in a direction to hold the prongs thereof embedded Y in the hoop.

2. The combination with abasket, of a cover therefor comprising a marginal hoop and thin cover material fastened to the upper edge of the hoop, a staple like fastener member having a pair of circumferentially spaced prongs driven down through the cover material and embedded in the hoop, said member having a laterally offset loop like portion clamped against the top surface of the cover material and projecting outwardly therebeyond, and a companion fastener member secured at its lower end to the side wall of the basket and extending upwardly at the outer side of the cover hoop. for engagement with the loop -like portion of the staple like fastener member ber. being bendable to interlock with said loop like i Vf 110.1171011."v gh It'willbe noted that the ab ve .describedcoverV-,f

3. ,The 'combination of a basket cover g unit comprising a marginal hoop with thin cover material secured to the upper edge thereof, said unit having attached thereto as a part thereof a cover fastening member which is secured to the hoop and has a pair of arms extending outwardly over and clamped against the thin cover material and joined together at their outer ends beyond the edge of the cover.

4. The combination of a basket cover unit comprising a marginal'hoop with thin cover material secured to the upper edge thereof, said unit having attached thereto as a part thereof a cover fastener member which is secured to the said hoop and has a loop portion beyond the edge of the cover with divergent arms extending inward-l ly over and clamped against the thin cover material.

5. The combination of a basket cover comprising a marginal hoop with thin cover material secured to the upper edge thereof, and a cover fastener member having a loop portion beyond the edge of the cover with divergent arms extending inwardly over the thin cover material and terminating in prongs which extend downwardly through the thin cover material and into the hoop.

6. 'Ihe combination with a basket, of a cover therefor having a marginal hoop with a plurality of slats secured at their outer ends to the upper edge of said hoop, means which clamps a Slat onto the hoop and has a loop portion projecting outwardly beyond the end of the slat, and a tongue projecting upwardly from the basket to engage said projecting loop portion.

7. 'I'he combination with a basket, of a separate cover unit therefor having a marginal hoop with a cross slot, a wire member attached to and forming part of the separate cover unit and having a loop portion beyond the edge of the cover and a pair of divergent legs extending inwardly,

over and across the grain of the said slat, Said legs being secured at their inner ends to the hoop so as to clamp the end of the slat against the upper edge of the hoop, and a tongue extending upwardly from the basket to engage the said projectingloop portion of the wire member.

8. The combination with a basket having fastening members thereon of a separate cover unit for said basket said cover unit comprising a marginal hoop with thin cover material secured to the upper edge thereof and a pair of crossed slats overlying the said thin covering material, the ends of at least one of said slats being clamped to the upper edge of said hoop by fastener members which are mounted on the cover unit as a part thereof and co-operate with said fastener members of the basket to fasten the cover on the basket. n

9. The combination of a basket having upwardly extending handles at opposite sides thereof, a cover unit having a marginal hoop and a pair of crossed slats, the ends of one of which said slats are engageable with the handles of the basket, and cover fastening means mounted on the cover unit as a part thereof at the ends of the l other slat, each of said fastening means comprising a member which secures an end of the latter slat to the hoop and has a loop portion projecting outwardly from the cover at the top, and said basket having a tongue thereon which is detachably engageable with the said loop portion of said member.

10. The combination with a basket, of a cover unit therefor comprising a marginal hoop with thin cover material fastened to-the upper edge thereof, and means for fastening the cover onto the basket said means comprising a fastener member mounted on and forming a part of the basket, and a companion fastener member mounted on and forming a part of the cover, the latter fastener member being arranged to secure the cover material to the upper edge of the hoop and having a laterally extending portion clamped against the top of the cover material and projecting outwardly therebeyond.

PAUL HINTZ. ALBERT H. SCHNHDTKE. 

